Thomas Tuchel said it will be “scary” to watch football over the next two months after seeing injuries damage England’s plans during the March international break.
The Three Lions were beaten 1-0 by Japan at Wembley on Tuesday in their final match before Tuchel names his 26-man squad for the World Cup. An experimental lineup produced a second disappointing England display in four days, following Friday’s 1-1 draw against Uruguay.
Captain Harry Kane was rested as a precaution after picking up an injury in training while Jordan Henderson returned to Brentford on the eve of the game, adding to a raft of fitness problems that prompted the withdrawals of several players including Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, John Stones and Adam Wharton.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Fikayo Tomori and Aaron Ramsdale were all cut from the extended squad after playing against Uruguay.
“It will be scary to watch TV on the weekend and throughout, because from now on every muscle injury can mean that a player misses out,” said Tuchel. “It’s one thing if players go, if players gets injured, which is anyway not nice but then Jordan Henderson, who is a key figure for us in camp, is out, Declan Rice is out, Bukayo is out.
“They are captains for their clubs, and they drive the standards. And then Harry Kane drops out so it’s basically the leadership group who is not available. This affects, of course, a group.
“Everyone gave everything and from now on, of course, still now all these injuries, I think, will be still manageable in the window of time that we have to be invested in club football in May and be ready for the World Cup.
“But from now on, the next eight weeks, I am concerned, of course, and I hope that that everything goes well for the players, that they stay healthy.”
England enjoyed a flawless qualifying campaign for the World Cup — winning all eight games without conceding a goal — but have now registered one draw and two defeats against teams ranked in FIFA’s world top 20 under Tuchel.
However, Tuchel played down the significant of those results against Senegal, Uruguay and Japan and said: “The most important [thing] is that we learn from it. This camp will not define us, and we have two months time to digest it, to take the learnings, to nominate our squad, to get players back healthy.
“Hopefully they stay healthy, that we have the full choice, and then we will pursue our dream from June.”
